Grab Bag Part 1

I’ve got an enormous backlog of items of interest I want to write about, and it’s hard to determine where to begin. Scanning over my list of items, many of them I’ve set aside to read, others are quick items of interest from the web and other blogs. With an eye to at least contributing towards my writing rhythm, here are a selection of interesting items that I’ve come across.

The Missing Piece Meets The Big O - This is an excellent bit of philosophical sketching that’s appealing in its simplicity, and the simplicity of its message. (Thanks to my friend and philosopher-extraordinaire Ray for passing this along.)

In September 2007, The Economist published their Technology Quarterly, always a good source of fresh reading and ideas. Although dated, and now accessible to subscribers only (sorry), the TQ included a piece on the ‘geoweb’ and the future of spatial data on the internet, the next generation of light bulbs without filaments, the state of development of electric cars (already dated now), the anticipated increase in demand for nuclear power, and Ubuntu and open-source operating systems.

If you haven’t seen any of the TED video presentations yet, please take the time to visit the TED site. The number and quality of presentations is remarkable, and it’s hard to beat TED for some thought-provoking content on the web. Beats watching TV anyday. In particular, on one of our favourite topics of food production, here’s Michael Pollan speaking on the omnivore’s dilemma.

My wife and I attended a summer party earlier this year, perhaps a Stampede party, and couldn’t help but notice the amount of waste produced in the process of celebrating a fine summer morning. It got us thinking that, at the very least, replacing all of the plastic cutlery with something biodegradable would be a start, along with paper plates. After not much digging on the web, we came across Tater Ware, bio-based products made from potatoes. Now, knowing how much food-for-fuel has distorted our food production recently, this may not be the best idea around, but imagine if we could take a lot of our waste food product and turn it into biodegradable products such as this.

Back in September, Guy Kawasaki posted the top three winners of the Slideshare World’s Best Presentation Contest, including this excellent presentation entitled ‘Thirst’ on our need to conserve and preserve our fresh water resources, and this one ’Foot Notes’ which inspired this shot.

Foot Loose

Another piece that caught my eye in the fall was this one on designs for an LED light bulb. I believe my interest in these new lighting technologies stems from my firm belief that we will see significant advances in many areas of energy conservation in our lifetime. If we reflect on the advances witnessed by our parents, we should be as excited as they were, but perhaps more pragmatic about considering the parallel impacts of new technologies.

How about another short piece from Michael Pollan from Newsweek May 2008 on the need “to grow food for people, not for cars or cattle.”?

I can’t recall where I read about this gem of online graphic collaboration from GE, but it’s enjoyable to experiment with. I am not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, even less so digitally, but for those who might collaborate online on a quick sketch of a process or new product, it could be a superb free tool.

Going back in the grabbag, here’s a piece on YouTube on Earth Hour 2008 – given the current firestorm in southern Australia, it’s apropo. Perhaps turning everything off for an hour once a year is symbolic, but perhaps we all need a little more symbolism in our lives these days to remind us of the course ahead. And while we’re on YouTube, if you haven’t seen this piece of excellent writing on the Lost Generation, take the time to watch it.

Do you believe that you have a strong grasp of world geography? Puzzled recently when you couldn’t remember where the Seychelles are? Try out this enjoyable and quick game from TripAdvisor, the Traveller IQ Challenge.

Reading: Blue Latitudes

Over the weekend in Vancouver, I just finished reading Blue Latitudes: Bolding Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before by Tony Horwitz. A book recommended to me by friends, it’s a well-written and enjoyable cross-over between 18th century marine history, following Cook’s adventures through the Pacific on three separate trips over a decade, and 20th century travelogue as Mr. Horwitz and his Aussie travel companion Roger follow in the footsteps of Captain Cook and visit the islands and lands visited and influenced by Cook’s explorations.If you like Bill Bryson’s travel writing, or have a strong interest in the early mariners, or you’re just looking for a strong bit of historical writing mixed with a large dash of wit and charm, this is an excellent read.

For me, I took away from it an enormous amount of respect for the exploits and determination of Cook and his crew under arduous travel conditions, and also a strengthened conviction that the travels of today need not be burdened by technological wonders (e.g. wrist-watch GPS and sat phones). Considering that his travels were executed with early chronographs, navigating primarily by sextant and the skies, the accuracy of Cook’s nautical charts and reckoning are something to continuously admire.

A current running underneath most of the book is the impact that Western exploration had on the “discovered” lands – both positive and negative. It is the commonality of all people, of our basic needs and desires, that rings true in the book. The ability of the explorers to fairly quickly befriend and enter trading relationships with native peoples from all of the islands visited, and carry on peacefully over repeated visits, suggests that getting along together is a lot easier than many think in today’s world.